Apple and Google will build their joint COVID-19 notification system into future versions of their respective iOS and Android operating systems, no longer requiring users to download separate apps to participate in contact tracing efforts, according to CNBC.

Apple and Google in May launched the exposure notification system, which allows smartphone users to download apps built using the system. Those apps, which are managed by public health authorities, then track Bluetooth signals from the users' phones to monitor device proximity without collecting the location or identity of the users.

If an app user tests positive for COVID-19, the system can then send a push notification to other phones that came in close proximity to the person to notify that they may have been exposed to the virus.

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